


Bless the Broken Road

by politics_and_prose



Series: All That Heaven Will Allow [2]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon, mentions of past Jack/Katherine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-05 00:16:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16356965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/politics_and_prose/pseuds/politics_and_prose
Summary: Sarah and Jack confront Katherine and David about not meeting their blind dates.





	Bless the Broken Road

Despite the fact that David and Katherine had already decided to go out a second time, neither was willing to divulge that information to Sarah and Jack. They’d avoided the questions with a shrug or a changed topic, always just saying the first date went well and they would see if a second happened. Neither picked up on the looks that they were getting from their respective match-makers.

For Katherine, it seemed like a double-edged sword. She didn’t want to give Sarah the satisfaction of knowing that she had her best friend and brother figured out to the point that she knew they would be good together. And they _were_ good together.

_Before Davey or Katherine knew it, the restaurant had significantly quieted down. When they looked up, nearly all of the other patrons were gone._

_“How long have we been here?” she asked, a smile on her face as she looked down at their table, which had been cleared of everything except their water glasses._

_David looked around, hoping to see a clock but finding none. “Well, it’s pretty dark out,” he grinned, “so I’d say it’s well past the time I should have gotten you home.”_

_“I don’t think Sarah was expecting me home before curfew tonight.”_

_Katherine watched as David’s cheeks turned pink and he looked down at the table. It was endearing, the way he was a little shy with her. They’d known each other for a couple of years now but he still turned pink when she said anything bold._

_She had never really paid attention to it before, but now she found it quite charming._

_“I hope she wasn’t expecting, you know, you to, uh …”_

_Katherine couldn’t help it; she had to laugh. Reaching out, she placed her hand over his. “I don’t think she thought we would be going home together. Unless Jack put that thought into her mind.”_

_“I don’t think Jack would think I would – that we would … not, you know, tonight,” Davey stuttered._

_“Davey, it’s okay,” she smiled. “I don’t think they would think that either. And if they did, then they were only half right about this. About us.”_

_“Which half?"_

_Smiling, Katherine just laced their fingers together._

For David, not telling Jack and Sarah was a little more complicated. He’d been shocked when he’d seen Katherine sitting at the table in a beautiful purple dress. It wasn’t that he thought Jack was still hung up on Katherine, they’d broken things off a long time ago, but he never would have imagined his best friend setting him up with his ex.

He’d never pressed Jack for any kind of details about his breakup with Katherine, nor had he ever pressed Sarah to ask Katherine. It was one of those universal truths that no one ever talked about, like Race spending all of his free time in Brooklyn or Crutchie and Finch bunking up even after they both got well-paying jobs. Jack and Katherine broke up but it wasn’t bad and she was still going to hang around with them, they were told, and that was that. 

He was kind of afraid if he told Jack that the set up was a success that Jack would get jealous and want her back. It was a horrible thing to think about his best friend but there was something in the pit of his stomach that told him if he told Jack just how good it felt to be with Katherine, something would happen. 

On the contrary, he also wanted to thank Jack. He hadn’t really felt this way about someone in a long time, maybe ever. She was smart and funny and didn’t mind that he could be really awkward. He was pretty sure she actually liked it, and that made it a lot less embarrassing for him.

\--

It took until the following Saturday for everything to come to a head. The four of them, Jack, Sarah, Katherine and David, were all out for a quick lunch at Jacobi’s when Sarah couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“So when were you going to tell me the truth?” she said as she turned to Katherine, a spark in her eyes. “Or were you just going to hope I never found out?”

“I – Sarah …” Katherine’s eyes darted over to David, who was sure he looked as terrified as he felt, before she turned back to her best friend. “I was …”

“You _promised_ you would meet him.” 

Katherine opened her mouth to say something but snapped it shut again. Her eyes flicked over to Davey again, who felt less terrified and more confused now.

“Well, since Sarah started it …” Jack said before he punched Davey in the arm, “you promised _me_ you would go on that date.”

There was silence at the table, two of the occupants agitated and two confused. Slowly, though, David gained some clarity and felt his face change from confusion to realization, eyes wide as he looked across the table to Katherine. Was there some silent code he could send to clue her in on what he was thinking? He was pretty sure there wasn’t, so he instead turned to Jack and calmly asked, “Jack, what was the woman’s name? That I was supposed to meet?”

“You would know if you’d’a showed up,” his best friend shot back petulantly.

When David looked back to Katherine after Jack’s comment, it seemed like she had caught on. “Sorry, Sarah. What was his name again?” she asked, her voice light but her eyes determined.

“I never _told_ _you_ his name,” Sarah replied. “I didn’t want you to be able to find out who he was and learn everything about him before your first date.”

David could see the triumphant look in Katherine’s eyes before his sister noticed. She’d figured it out just as he had.

Jack and Sarah hadn’t set them up at all. They’d just been in the same place at the same time and assumed that their friends were working together to get them to go out. It made David’s stomach drop to realize that _this_ was part of his fears. Jack hadn’t been the one to set him up with Katherine, so there was a chance his buddy wouldn’t be okay with the two of them seeing each other.

Unfortunately for his nerves, Katherine had no such thoughts or reservations. “What was his name?” she demanded. “I’m not going to stop asking until you tell me.”

Sighing, Sarah crossed her arms. “Promise you won’t investigate him.”

Katherine grinned and nodded. “Promise.”

“George,” Sarah admitted. “And he’s a great guy! He’s going to medical school, he’s from a good family. Blonde, handsome, and he believes in women’s suffrage. What more could a girl want?”

_What more indeed?_ David asked himself. But he felt a foot tap against his under the table and he some of the tension left his body. Apparently, Katherine wasn’t upset about not meeting this George fellow.

David turned his attention to Jack. “What was her name?” he asked softly. “The woman I …” David swallowed. “The woman I stood up.” He winced on the last two words and he tried not to feel bad or embarrassed. If Jack had just _told_ him … 

“Adele,” Jack answered. “She works as a secretary at The Journal.” He paused. “And I figured since she’s Jewish, you wouldn’t’a been able ta’ find somethin’ ta’ say about it not working out.” 

Religion hadn’t even occurred to David. It probably should have, his mother was incredibly devout, but it didn’t. He supposed if he and Katherine kept their personal relationship up, it would be something they had to talk about. His folks knew her and all but not as anything other than a friend. He wondered if they would be okay with him seeing a non-Jewish girl.

“So … are you gonna let me apologize to George and try again?” Sarah asked a little impatiently, though there was a hint of hope in her voice. “Because I bet he’s still interested. I can just say you got a scoop or something and lost track of time.”

“Yeah,” Jack said, piggybacking on Sarah’s idea, “And I can tell Adele you fell asleep at the library or somethin’. Totally believable.”

Licking his lips, David looked up to meet Katherine’s eyes. She smiled at him, soft and reassuring, and it made him feel a lot more confident than he had any right to.

“I – that won’t be necessary,” he told Jack, his eyes moving back to meet his pal’s. “I, uh … you see, I _did_ meet someone that night. I thought she was who you set me up with. I was shocked, sure, but … I thought it was pretty clever too.” 

Jack blinked. “You went on a date wi’ someone _else_ when you was supposed to be wi’ Adele?”

“I didn’t know you set me up with Adele!” Davey shot back quickly. “I had _no idea_ who I was meeting there.”

“So who did you meet?”

“Me.”

David smiled as Sarah and Jack’s heads snapped over to look at Katherine. She looked so confident and cool, a beautiful and enchanting little smile on her lips. It was the same one she’d had on her face when she brought the newsboys the copy of The Sun that they’d been on the cover of.

It was definitely more attractive now than it had been back then.

“ _You_?” Sarah shrieked, which earned their table some looks from other patrons. Lowering her voice, she repeated, “You?” 

Katherine nodded and then laughed, bringing her hand to her mouth to try to stifle the sound. David was captivated. “Yes. He showed up at my table and we both thought that you two …” 

“You thought we set you up? Wi’ _each other_?” Jack asked in confusion, his hands waving around. “Why the hell would we do that?”

Sarah reached across the table to grab Jack’s forearm, a thoughtful look on her face. “We didn’t,” Sarah said slowly, her eyes moving from Jack to her brother and finally to her best friend. “But maybe we should have.” 

“Maybe _what_?” Jack asked. “Maybe we _should have_?”

Smiling, Sarah nodded. “Yeah. Think about it, Jack. Who else really fits?”

Jack was silent for a moment and David felt his anxiety rise with each passing second. He had no idea what he and Katherine were thinking, telling Sarah and Jack that they had gone on a date. If Jack was going to act like this, like it was the worst thing he’d ever heard, there was no way he’d be able to let his best friend know that he and Katherine had another date scheduled that night.

“No one.” 

Jack’s words cut through his near-panic and David nearly choked in surprise and relief.

“You’re right, Sar. No one.” Jack grinned and then started laughing. “Damn, why the hell didn’t we think’a this sooner?”

“Or at all,” Sarah corrected, a smile still on her lips.

“There’s only one problem,” Jack said with a frown, his eyes jumping between Katherine and Davey.

“I – what’s that?” David asked nervously.

“Well, I donno who I gotta threaten ta’ not hurt the other!”

All four started laughing and David felt the last of the tension drain from his shoulders. His eyes moved from Jack to Katherine, who was smiling widely and looking at him like he was someone special.

His heart started pounding as he vowed to himself to prove to her and everyone else that he was. He would make sure he was the kind of guy Katherine thought he was because he _wanted_ to be that guy for her.

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of hate when I have a muse for one story and not another. But this is pretty okay. I love Davey and Katherine and if they want to inspire me, who am I to lock them away?


End file.
